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Ameneh's picture

A lot of our discussion was

A lot of our discussion was about leaders, both within the classroom setting and otherwise (the geese, for example). Initially, I found it very hard to accept that there does not always need to be a leader for a system to work. When I was thinking about the example of the geese, even when the goose that appeared to be the leader was "killed", the structure still remained. However, another goose did take its place. It seemed as if that format of there being a leader and followers needed to be maintained. We were also told in class that internally, the geese are all the same so there is nothing in a particular goose that would make it a more likely leader. Why, then, would a goose take that front spot in the formation? Its not like the maintenance of the structure depends on there being a leader. Maybe it's just habit, that's the way the geese have always known things to be and that's why it persists? Moreover, maybe this can be applied to the classroom as well. Maybe learning does not come from being taught be a leader/teacher. But then what would be the basis of teaching and learning? Maybe (like the geese, again) an internal  state of knowing how to learn, should instead be created and instilled in students from the start. The teacher, then, would not need to be the leader. If the student had the agency and the ability to be his or her own teacher, then each student would be their own leader. Maybe that is what education should aim to do.

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